Wednesday, August 31, 2011

Scenario contest closing soon

      I will be closing the scenario contest soon. I have only gotten five entries (actually six but I kicked one out as it was a transparent copy of and old one published in a wargames magazine, the guilty party knows who they are!).

     The prize is going to be twenty 15mm figures painted, or ten 28mm figures or five vehicles (up to 28mm) painted and finished. These would completed to the standard you have seen above in the "Mini of the Moment" in the header above.

Thursday, August 18, 2011

Two Fat Lardies go to Lebanon, 15mm IDF vs PLO

      Pat hosted a game last weekend of PLO vs IDF using Two Fat Lardies "Rock the Casbah" rules; these are clones of the TWaT and B'Maso rules tailored for use in games reflecting the conflict in the Holy Land. 
    
     The scenario was straightforward; the IDF needed to get off the other end of the table as fast as was feasible whilst suffering as little casualties as possible. The IDF troops are part of a deep penetration force trying to cut off retreating PLO forces. The PLO force is a scratch force thrown together to delay the IDF as long as they can to allow their compatriots to escape the pincer movement. The PLO have no heavy weapons and only intermittent mortar support, the IDF is an entirely motorised and armored force with helicopter gunship support.

    Here we see the table as veiwed by the IDF players, the narrow road runs between the citrus orchards that are such a common feature of the south of Lebanon, the orchards are divided by high stone walls that are too tall for a man to see over and even pose a significant obstacle to tracked vehicles. Click on the photos for a larger view.


     This is the scene from the PLO perspective, a couple of good choke-points but the lack of heavy weapons means the fight will be up-close and bloody, not a PLO speciality. The IDF has good troops that are well-led and mounted in armored vehicles, they are armed to the teeth with automatic weapons. The PLO has five units, four of them assault rifle and RPG armed the last is an LMG. The real crippling factor is the shortage of leaders on the PLO side.


Wednesday, August 17, 2011

This weekend and other news

I have been cleared to work the Dream Cruise so there won't be a game this weekend.

The knee problem looks like a torn miniscus so there will be a couple of weeks in the near future where I will be sitting at home painting (sigh) after the repair surgery. The doc said he has had people wait a long time before seeing him about an injury, but never 35 years. I have always been a procrastinator.

In other news it looks good for 27 Aug gaming at my place.


Keep painting,     John

Saturday, August 13, 2011

Plastic Soldier Company 1/100 Sherman M-4A1

     Fresh from Michigan Toy Soldier is yet another beauty from the PSC stable this kit presents the cast-hull version of the Sherman tank. This kit is cast with plenty of attention to detail and is crisply done with no flash and nearly invisble mold-lines. Molded in an alarming pink shade there are five sprues each providing the parts for one tank as well as a ton of spare/alternate bits. Priced at $29.95US these are a great deal for such a well done product. That said, on to the product, remember you can click on the photos for a larger picture.


box, front

Friday, August 12, 2011

Plastic Soldier Company 1/100 Sherman M-4A2

     Hot off the presses is the M-4A2 kit from Plastic Soldier Company, this long-awaited kit is everything that the Pz-IV suggested it would be, crisply molded in a light olive color this kit comes with everything you need to assemble most variants of the famous M-4. Parts are provided for the 75mm, 76mm and 105mm models. This kit should prove popular amongst wargamers as it provides an excellent kit at a very reasonable $29.95US for five. Now on to the photos, remember to click on the picture for a larger view.


Front of the box, nice to see something other than O.D. overall

Monday, August 8, 2011

Scenario Design Challenge

    I have a challenge to anybody that is feeling creative out there. I have a table that is designed to be able to set up in different configurations, 6x4, 12x4, 9x6, and an "L" shape using two 6x4 panels (these are, of course, Imperial measurements, nobody could reach the center if it were metric). Using those possible arrangements I am challenging you to design a generic scenario that is balanced, fun and unpredictable.

    This does not mean equal forces, it can be balanced by placing various victory conditions on the attackers/defenders. You can limit it to certain periods or levels of play (e.g. Skirmish) but do try to make it as open as possible. The other requirement is that it be within the reach if the average wargamer, no requirements for a large castle or a 1:1 scale steamship.

     You need to include a clear map and easy to follow troop descriptions as well as clearly explained special rules or victory conditions.

     Send your ideas to me at daftrica 89 at yahoo dot com. Ignore those spaces and the "dot" is of course this "." Title the e-mail "scenario".

     I will play-test the best ones and award a prize to the winner.

Keep painting,  John